SITE DETAILS

Woodgrange Park Cemetery

Newham

Summary:

Woodgrange Park Cemetery was established in 1889 by the Tottenham Park Cemetery Company, and has remained in private ownership. Its red brick Gothic chapel is now derelict. Despite the opposition of the Friends of Woodgrange Park Cemetery, a group set up in 1980 to protect and preserve the cemetery, the eastern part was sold off for a private housing development by Badgehurst Ltd, although an Act of Parliament required a sum to be re-invested in the cemetery. Within the cemetery are 187 Commonwealth War Graves for those who died in both world wars.

The information shown above was correct at the time of the last update 01/04/2012
Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.fowpc.co.uk

Fuller information:

From the C12th Woodgrange was part of Stratford Abbey lands. Previously a rural area, one of the first housing estates in the area, the Woodgrange Estate, was built by Thomas Corbett & Son between 1877 and 1892, providing over 1,100 dwellings on the 44.5-hectare site of Woodgrange Farm. A. Cameron Corbett was a Glasgow MP and developer, who was responsible for much development in nearby Ilford and later became Lord Rowallan. Woodgrange Park Cemetery was established in 1889 by the Tottenham Park Cemetery Company; the red brick Gothic chapel has stone detailing but is now derelict. Despite the opposition of the Friends of Woodgrange Park Cemetery, a group set up in 1980 to protect and preserve the cemetery and oppose plans for housing and other development, the eastern part has since been sold off for a private housing development by Badgehurst Ltd. Planning permission for residential development was given on approximately 1.29 hectares at the east end, leaving approximately 6.9 hectares of the cemetery. The planning permission and a private Woodgrange Park Cemetery Act 1993 required £900,000 from purchase of the land to be reinvested in the cemetery, £500,000 for a trust fund to finance future maintenance works and £400,000 to be spent on immediate improvements. In the process of site clearance numerous graves were disturbed and tombs removed, but remains have now been interred in another area of the cemetery, now known as the Memorial Garden of Remembrance.

Although the cemetery is badly neglected and its path structure partly obliterated, it contains numerous mature trees, including lime, plane, ash, oak, sycamore, Lombardy and hybrid black poplar. According to the London Ecology Unit's survey in 1991, it is a haven for wildlife, at that time having 32 species of birds breeding, as well as amphibians and reptiles, some uncommon for London. Some tombs are found among long grass and scrub, and there are also areas with graves among grass. Among those buried here are Frederick Charrington (d.1936), paradoxically not only one of the famous brewing family but also dubbed 'The Great Temperance Advocate'; Charles Mare (d.1898) the ship and bridge builder who founded Thames Ironworks, Shipbuilding and Engineering Company near Thames Wharf. Five Iranian terrorists shot during the Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 are buried in an unmarked grave.

Near the chapel the Muslim Patel Burial Trust acquired a private burial area, which is fenced off from the main cemetery behind green-painted railings and gates.

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.